Five-star Darnell Washington forging his own path
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NORWALK, Calif. - Darnell Washington traveled all the way from Las Vegas to Southern California for the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas last weekend.
And he forgot his cleats.
So the five-star tight end and Las Vegas Desert Pines assistant head coach David Hill hopped back in the car right before the event, drove to a store to pick up a replacement pair and then Washington returned at the beginning of the camp and dominated.
That’s nothing new. The 6-foot-7, 255-pound Washington is one of only nine tight ends in Rivals history dating back to 2002 who have achieved five-star status. It’s a rare accomplishment but fitting for Washington since he’s such a unique prospect.
When first seeing him, Washington looks like an NBA power forward. He is so tall, he moves so well and he’s not this gangly, awkward football project like some teenagers who are not yet comfortable with their size. For a rough comparison, LeBron James is an inch taller and five pounds lighter than Washington.
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m biased or maybe because I get to coach him and see him every day,” Hill said. “I haven’t seen many kids this big who move like him. Usually, when you’re 6-7, you’re clumsy. He’s so agile on his feet and can make the cuts and run every route. When he went against (five-star cornerback Kelee) Ringo this past weekend, I was like, ‘What?’ I was thinking in my head, ‘Who can guard him?’”
Nobody has had much success yet. It looks like he’s playing against little boys on Friday nights. A picture this weekend emerged of Washington with NFL tight end Antonio Gates, an eight-time Pro Bowler, and they both look like they belong in the league.
That’s why Washington is ranked as the No. 1 tight end in the class and the No. 17 prospect overall, in that elite five-star ranking with other tight ends in Rivals history like Martellus Bennett, Greg Olsen, O.J. Howard, Kyle Rudolph and others.
He lists 35 offers, but any school would take Washington right now. They’re all trying.
“The message has been that they feel like he’s a person who can come in and play from Day 1 and that he has a rare skill set to be that size and to be that fluid in the way he runs,” Hill said. “They all think he’s going to be able to play right away and catch a lot of touchdowns. That has been their selling point, that we’re not recruiting you to sit the bench, you’re really different and there aren’t a lot of people like you.”
Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said: “There have been a lot of great tight ends who have been five-stars, Martellus Bennett, Greg Olsen, Kyle Rudolph and others, so it’s going to be hard to say where he will fit when it comes to Rivals history but I will say he’s probably the biggest tight end who can move that way that I’ve seen. The closest comparison is (Austin) Seferian-Jenkins, who was not as fluid an athlete as Washington.”
A comparison is nearly impossible, since there haven’t been many players like Washington at the same stage. Or any stage.
“I know Miami told me I’m like Brevin Jordan since we both came from Las Vegas,” Washington said. “I’ve heard O.J. Howard a couple times and then some people at home in Vegas say I’m like Rob Gronkowski.”
Personality-wise, the five-star tight end comes off quiet and without much ego. It’s impossible to not know he’s better than almost anybody else on the football field, but the Las Vegas Desert Pines prospect plays like he has bigger goals in mind.
“I just do what I can,” Washington said. “I do my best. I kind of just don’t feed into the hype and I just try to humble myself.”
And even though he realizes other recruits are trying to make a name for themselves by shutting him down, Washington doesn’t sweat it.
“I really don’t care,” Washington said. “I don’t look in the line (at camps) and see who’s next. That’s not me. I just get in there and show out.”
As for recruiting, Penn State, Tennessee, Georgia, Clemson, Miami, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Texas and Texas A&M are some schools standing out but after a recent trip to the East Coast, Washington is re-evaluating everything.
There is maybe a lot more to consider than Washington first realized and so the five-star wants to take those steps to make the right decision. He visited UCLA over the weekend and plans to be at Georgia soon. Other trips are definitely being planned as well.
“He’s looking for the best relationship and who uses the tight end the best,” Hill said. “That’s why Penn State has become one of the top five schools, top three schools, because of the way they use the tight end.
“After traveling to the East and seeing Penn State, he understands he needs to do all his research because he didn’t know Penn State was that good of a program and fit him that well. He wants to turn over every stone and he doesn’t want to shut the door on anybody at this moment. We went to UCLA this weekend. He didn’t know Caleb Wilson had the most receiving yards in the country. He wanted to know how big he was, what the plays looked like, why he was able to have so much success. Now he wants to go everywhere, he’s going to Florida, Miami, Florida State, look at everybody, look at the stats and look at how much they use the tight end. Not who says they’re going to use them, who has used them.”